A witness to Tuesday’s crossover crash on Interstate 35 that killed a mother and her 9-year-old son said he understands what the grieving families are going through.

Witness to I-35 fatal crash lost 2 family members in similar 2014 wreck

A witness to Tuesday’s crossover crash on Interstate 35 that killed a mother and her 9-year-old son said he understands what the grieving families are going through.

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Updated: 9:25 PM CDT May 4, 2016

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WEBVTT ELI THIS MAN SAW IT HAPPEN, , RIGHT? EL FIRST, LET US TALK ABOUT THE GRANDFATHER OF THIS NINE-YEAR-OLD. HE TOLD US THAT HE IS ABSOLUTELY HEARTBROKEN. AT ACCIDENT, A LOT I-35. HE SAW IT ALL FIRSTHAND . HE DOES EXACTLY WHAT THESE GRIEVING FAMILIES ARE GOING THROUGH. THE DEBRIS ON THE HIGHWAY, THE MANGLED CARS. FROM THE START, EVERYONE KNEW THIS ACCIDENT WAS BAD. >> WHEN I LOOKED UP IN THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR, I JUST WENT, "OH, GOD." ELI: CHUCK WOOLSONCROFT SAW IT ALL AS HE HEADED NORTH ON THIS STRETCH OF I-35 LAST NIGHT. >> THE WAY PIECES AND PARTS WERE FLYING EVERYWHERE, I KNEW AT THAT MOMENT THAT IT WAS BAD. THERE WAS PROBABLY A FATALITY. ELI: INVESTIGATORS SAY 28-YEAR-OLD APRIL BROWN AND HER 9-YEAR-OLD SON, JEREMIAH J.J. PERSINGER, WERE KILELD. >> THAT'S A GUT-CHECK MOMENT. ELI: WOOLSONCROFT, A TRAUMA NURSE, AND FORMER POLICE OFFICER, COULDN'T STOP, THOUGH. >> THERE WAS JUST NO WAY. >> COULD I HAVE OFFERED SOME KIND OF FIRST AID? COULD I HAVE DONE SOMETHING? I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE BEEN TOO NUMB. THIS IS THE OBITUARIES. IT WAS JUNE 9 OF 2014. ELI: WOOLSONCROFT'S 12-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AND HER STEP-BROTHER WERE KILLED IN A SIMILAR ACCIDENT ON I-70 BACK IN 2014. >> THIS IS HER TWELFTH BIRTHDAY, THE LAST BIRTHDAY WE GOT TO SPEND TOGETHER. ELI: THIS ISN'T EASY FOR WOOLSONCROFT, CLINGING TO THIS MEMORY BOOK. >> THAT GIRL COULD EAT, EAT, EAT, PANCAKES. ELI: HE'S ONLY SPEAKING NOW SO BROWN AND PERSINGER'S FAMILY KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE. >> IT BROUGHT BACK A FLOOD OF MEMORIES, JUST WATCHING THE ACCIDENT. ELI: WILSON CROSS AND HIS WIFE TELL ME THEY CONTINUE TO FIND STRENGTH IN THEIR FAITH. THE CAUSE OF LAST NIGHT ACCIDENT

Witness to I-35 fatal crash lost 2 family members in similar 2014 wreck

A witness to Tuesday’s crossover crash on Interstate 35 that killed a mother and her 9-year-old son said he understands what the grieving families are going through.